Fountain-pen.



PATENTED APR; 19, 1 904.

F. M. KEGRIZE.

FOUNTAIN PEN.

APPLIGATION rum) JULY 28, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

@5222? and,

4 fltl'oinug- UNITED STATES Eatented April 19, 1904.

PATENT Fr es.

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 757,664, dated April 19, 1904.

Application filed July 28, 1903. Serial No. 167,302. (No model.)

body principles or designs which are intended to correct faults of one kind or another, so as to secure the proper action of the ink and air in moving lengthwise of the feed. Where one defect is overcome another defect is liable to arise,resulting in a pen which is not wholly satisfactory.

The principal defects which it is the object of this invention to overcome may be noted as follows: first, the necessity to givethe pen a jerk for the purpose of causing the ink to" flow downward to the writing-point after being idle for awhile; second, irregularity of the flow of ink, sometimes too freely, thereby allowing the ink to drop or flow from the writingpoint upon the paper, and at other times the refusal of the ink to flow at all; third, the liability of the ink after placing the pen in the pocket,point upward, tooverflow the reservoir and pen-nib and feed and flow downward outside of the end section of the holder, thereby soiling the clothes and fingers. The fault first referred to is frequently caused by having too small or too narrow longitudinal ducts or grooves which taper or vary in depth or form and which therefore become accidentally clogged with dry ink or sediment because of their being so shallow. The second fault is frequently caused by having the longitudinal duct too large or having too many interstices or small secondary capillary openings, the result being that too large a quantity of ink accumulates in the feed and under the pen, also the excessive entrance of air into the feedducts and thence into the Well, resulting in allowing the ink to drop unhindered from the pen-point upon the paper or writing-surface.

In other designs, some of which have separate grooves or holes intended to act one for the movement of the ink only and the other for the air only, the fault lies in thatboth grooves or holes become filled or choked with ink, in which case the pressure is equalized in both grooves or holes and will not permit the ink to flow from the pen. The third fault is usually caused by the construction of the feed, in which the ink While the pen is in writing position fills the longitudinal duct, entirely excluding air, and When the pen is elevated from a writing to avertical position, as when in the pocket, the air-bubble which forms at the inner end of feed inside the well chokes the inner end of the duct, hindering the return of ink to the well. The bubble Will then be backed up or reinforced by the volume of air behind it and gradually advance upward through the duct, pushing the ink ahead of it and causing the same to overflow and move downward along the outer surface of the penholder, thus soiling the fingers and clothing.

With the above defects in view I have designed an ink-feed for fountain-pens employing a principle by means of which I obtain a balanced gravity of fluid or ink While the pen is held or used in writing position, but when inverted, as when placed in the pocket, offering no resistance to the return of ink to the well. The feed hereinafter described is economical in manufacture and may be made out of a round bar of hard rubber with the aid of no other machinery than a simple circular or disk saw fixed on a rotary spindle.

With the above and other objects in view, the nature of which will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated, and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a longitudinal section through the end portion of a fountain-pen, showing the improved inkfeed and indicating by arrows the movement of the air and ink. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the ink-feed. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the same. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section through the end section of the pen, showing the writing-point or pen proper in position.

Fig. 5 is a cross-section through the ink-feed on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a crosssection on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a cross-section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through the inkfeed, showing a slightly-enlarged air-chamber or obstruction. Fig. 9 is a detail perspective view of the cap. Fig. 10 is a detail section showing the cap applied to one end of the reservoir or holder. Fig. 11 is a similar view showing the cap applied to the other end of the holder.

Similar numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawlngs.

In carrying out the present inventionI employ a straight solid piece of cross-sectionallyround hard rubber 1 of suitable diameter to agree with the size of the holder or reservoir. By means of a circular saw the ink-duct 2 is cut into the inner end and lower side of said bar, which forms the body of the feed, said out slit or duct extending from a point near the rear or inner end of the feed to about halfway the length of the feed, where it terminates in a shoulder 3, said out extending in depth and distance about equal to two-thirds of the thickness of the body 1 of the feed. The body is then reversed and the other side presented to the saw, which is then caused to cut a similar duct 4 from a point near the outer end of the feed'inward to a point just behind the center of the feed, said cut or duct extending substantially two-thirds through the diameter of the feed and terminating at its inner end in a shoulder 5. The two ducts extend past or overlap each other, so to speak, thereby establishing a communicating passage 6 between the duct 4 and the duct 2, so that ink and air may .pass from one to the other. The outer end portion of the feed is cut away on opposite sides, as shown at 7 to provide the feed with a reduced projecting end portion, and the extreme end portion of thefeed is also beveled or tapered, as shown at 8, toward the under side of the writingpoint or pen point proper, (illustrated at 9.) The pen-point 9 is provided at the inner end of the usual slit 10 with an air-opening 11, by means of which air is admitted to the duct 4.

The action of ink and air in the pen is as follows: WVhen the pen is lowered from its inverted position to the writing position, the ink which surrounds the end portion protruding beyond the end section into the well enters the duct 2, advances rapidly along the end section through the communicating passage 6, thence along the outer duct A, where it comes in contact with the pen-point and fills the duct 4 up to the air-hole 11, which hole is then closed by the ink, thereby stopping the further entrance of air. A portion of the air during this operation which was contained in the ducts moves along the feed to the end of the inner portion thereof and escapes around said inner portion into the well and onto the top of the well, so as to replace the ink.

However, after the ink has closed the airhole in the pen-point the air will not all have escaped from the feed, for the reason that at the point where the two grooves communicate a small obstruction is formed, which has the effect of retaining a portion of the air in the form of a bubble. Another obstruction is formed by the rounded inner end or surface 12 of the duct 2, said obstructing-surface 12 being provided for the special purpose of retaining or holding a quantity of air as long as the pen is in writing position. At no time while the pen is in use is the feed filled with ink only, as is frequently the case with other pens. On the contrary, the same quantity of air is almost constantly contained in the feed at the two points mentioned. After a suflicient quantity of ink has been used in writing from beneath the pen-point the air-hole becomes uncovered, thereby allowing a small quantity of air to enter the feed and advance along the upper surface of the end section of the pen until reaching the first obstruction it mingles with the air already at that point. A portion of this air then moves toward the second obstructing-surface 12, mingling with the air contained at that point, a portion of such air being finally released and moving into the well and on to the upper end thereof. This operation is repeated again and again until the well is entirely emptied of ink, when the feed finally runs dry and the pen ceases to write. After using the pen for a while and placing the same in the pocket the air contained in front of the obstructions referred to moves upward toward the air-hole in the pen, the ink at the same time flowing downward to the inner end of the feed and dropping into the well, thus preventing the overflow of ink from the pen and the soiling of fingers and clothing.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that the feed contains at all times the same quantity of ink and air while in writing position, and the ink is therefore fed to the 1 writingpoint with perfect regularity. At i the same time no obstruction is made to the free movement of the ink when first placed in writing position, and after ceasing to write and placing the pen in the pocket there is no obstruction to the flow of the ink back into the well.

A severe test to any fountain-pen is found in using copying inks, which always contain a heavy thick sediment. I have tested the inkfeed hereinabove described in connection with such heavy writing-ink and find after continued use of such feed that the fluid flows evenly and freely all the time. The flow of ink is just as regular and reliable while using thin ink or writing fluid.

In some cases an additional advantage may be obtained by increasing the depth of the larger air-chamber, as shown at 13 in Fig. 8, so as to provide for retaining a larger quantity of air atthe inner end of the feed. The construction of the feed hereinabove described also has an advantage in that no special shape of end section is required, the bore of the end section being the same except for the short distance Where it is recessed to form the penseat 1 1. Any desired shape of pen may be employed as long as it is provided with the air-hole 11.

15 designates a cap which is adapted to be fitted to either end-of the penholder or reservoir, both ends of the reservoir being tapered, as shown at 16. The open end of the cap is also tapered, as shown at 17, to a thin edge 18, and is further split, as shown at 19, to provide elasticity or resiliency for the purpose of enabling the cap to clasp itself upon the tapered end portion of the reservoir, while at the same time providing a strong and durable shoulder for firmly clasping the reservoir and limiting the inward-sliding movement of the cap. The construction described obviates the liability of splitting the capwhile placing the same upon the pen and while carrying the pen in the pocket, where it is sometimes subjected to severe pressure and strain.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A fountain-pen feed embodying two ducts extending lengthwise thereof and arranged at opposite sides of the body of the feed and-communicating at a point intermediate the ends of the feed.

2. ..A fountain-pen feed embodying two longitudinal ducts which overlap and communicate at a point intermediate the ends of the feed, and an air-obstructing surface at the inner end of one of said ducts.

3. A fountain-pen feed embodying two longitudinal ducts which overlap and communicate at a point intermediate the ends of the feed, and an air-chamber at the inner end of one duct. v

1. A fountain-pen feed embodying two longitudinal ducts which overlap and communicate at a point intermediate the ends of the feed, and an air-obstructing surface at the inner end of each duct.

5. A fountain-pen feed comprising a cylindrical body provided at one side with a groove extending from a point near one end toward the opposite end and having a depth greater than one-half the diameter'of the body, a second duet extending from a point near the opposite end of the body lengthwise thereof and arranged at the opposite side, said ducts overlapping and communicating at a point intermediate the ends of the feed, and an air-obstructing surface at the inner end of one of said ducts.

6. A fountain-pen feed comprising a cylindrical body extending beyond the inner end of the outer pen-section and provided with a duct extending from near the outer end lengthwise thereof toward the opposite end, a second duct extending from near the inner end outward toward the opposite end and arranged at the opposite side of the body, said ducts having a depth greater than one-half the thickness of the feed and overlapping and communicating at a point intermediate the ends of the. feed, and an air-obstructing surface at the inner end of one of said ducts. V

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANK M. KEGRIZE. Witnesses:

H. B. JARRETT, W. A. VVATSON. 

